The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals

The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals

Imagine feeding your family wholesome eggs, milk meat and honey produced in your own backyard. On as little as 1/10 of an acre, you can organically and humanely raise barnyard animals and take a huge step toward food independence. This book shows you how to:

Preface Introducing Backyard Farm Animals How Many Animals Can You Keep?

Chickens

Turkeys

Ducks & Geese

Rabbits

Honey Bees

Goats

Sheep

Pigs

Dairy Cows & Beef Cattle

Glossary Resources Credits Index

Excerpt from Page 12, Chickens: Getting Started

Comparing Benefits and Drawbacks Raising chickens has some downsides. One is the dust they stir up, which can get pretty unpleasant if they are housed in an outbuilding where equipment is store. Another is their propensity to scratch the ground and dig dust holes, which can be a big problem if they get into a bed of newly planted seedlings. Chickens also produce plenty of droppings that, if no properly managed, will smell bad and attract flies.

Until you raise your own chickens, it may be hard to believe that people become attached to their chickens and have difficulty letting them go when it's time to butcher meat birds or replace old layers with younger, more efficient hens. The only alternative, though, is to run a retirement home for chickens, which gets pretty expensive, and the birds will still get old and die eventually. You'll have to come to grips with the loss.

For many people, the upside of raising far outweighs the downside. Chickens provide wholesome eggs and meat for your family, and you can take pride in knowing that the flock that puts food on your table lives under pleasant conditions.

Caring for a home flock takes only a few minutes each day to provide feed and water and to collect eggs. In hot or cold weather, these jobs must be twice daily, seven days a week. If you raise chickens for meat, the project will be finished in two to three months. If you raise hens for eggs, you must care for them year-round. As long as you keep in mind that your flock relies on you for its survival, raising chickens is a breeze.

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The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals

Imagine feeding your family wholesome eggs, milk meat and honey produced in your own backyard. On as little as 1/10 of an acre, you can organically and humanely raise barnyard animals and take a huge step toward food independence. This book shows you how to:

Reviews

For anybody who wants to how to lower their food costs and live a healthier, more rewarding lifestyle, this the bible! This will get you started and give you a firm foundation to stand on while you take your first steps. I'm so excited!!

Kristina

May 29, 2012

This book is a really great overview of raising a large variety of farm animals, including rabbits, goats, sheep, a variety of poultry, pigs, honeybees and more. For all of the chapters, the book has very valuable illustrations, is fairly well laid out, and the design is very sharp. I would recommend this book as a starter for anyone interested in taking on different farm animals or wanting to learn a bit more about them. For instance, I learned that raising goats seemed a bit out of my reach, but keeping honeybees was doable for my time and expertise. To raise any one of these animals, I'd highly recommend getting specialized books on that particular animal - otherwise, this book won't cover it all. Still, it'll make a great gift and is an interesting read.